Pneumatic feed attachment for tape dispensers



1956 H. H. HACKETT 2, 639%] PNEUMATIC FEED ATTACHMENT FOR TAPE DISPENSERS Filed April 17, 1952 s Sheets-Sheet 1 HARRY H. HACKETT BY IN V EN TOR.

M 1956 H. H. HAQKETT 2,763,,4

' PNEUMATIC FEED ATTACHMENT FOR TAPE DISPENSERS Filed April 17, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HARRY H. HACKETT ZWT/f' S T. M, 1956 H. H. HACKETT PNEUMATIC FEED ATTACHMENT FOR TAPE DISPENSERS Filed April 17. 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. HARRY H. HACKETT y ATT RN United States Patent PNEUMATIC FEED ATTACHMENT FOR TAPE DISPENSERS Harry H. Hackett, North Manchester, Ind. Application April 17, 1952, Serial No. 282,911 4 Claims. (Cl. 271--2.4)

This invention relates to a pneumatic feed, and in particular to a pneumatic feed attachment for an apparatus for dispensing predetermined lengths of gummed tape.

An object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic feed attachment which may be conveniently associated with the housing of a conventional apparatus for dispensing gummed tape for thereby converting such an apparatus from hand operation to pneumatic operation under the control of an operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic feed attachment for driving the rock shaft of a conventional gummed tape dispenser throughout a predetermined cycle for thereby insuring that an exact and predetermined amount of gummed tape will be dispensed each time the said rock shaft is actuated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic feed attachment having the hereinabove described characteristics and which includes valve means normally biased to maintain the pneumatic feed at one end of its stroke, and operatonactuable means for controlling said valve for driving the pneumatic feed throughout a predetermined stroke incident to its actuation.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a device having the hereinabove described characteristics which may be quickly and easily associated with a standard gummed tape dispensing device by merely replacing the oscillatable hand lever with a gear engageable with a reciprocable rack comprising part of the pneumatic feed attachment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic feed attachment for conventional tape dispensing devices which is characterized by its ability to operate at frequent intervals over prolonged periods of time in a highly etlicient and economical manner.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and as disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional tape dispensing apparatus provided with a pneumatic feed attachment embodying the teachings of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the pneumatic feed attachment of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top elevational view of the pneumatic feed of Fig. 2. a

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the device of Fig. 1 operatively associated with an operator-controlled actuator valve.

Fig. 6 is a view, partly in section, of the operator-controlled valve of Fig. 5.

Heretofore considerable difficulty has been experienced with hand-operated dispensing devices for gummed tape in that the manner in which an operator would actuate the driving lever would vary throughout a days work period, depending upon the mental alertness and physical condition of the operator.

2,763,481 Patented Sept. ltd, 1956 Devices for dispensing gummed tape are extensively used, in industry, for dispensing predetermined lengths of tape to operators. Such lengths of tape are mechanically grasped by operators who apply it by hand to various items such as, by way of example, electrical coils. Since the attention of such operators is directed to the coil being wound, the motion of picking up a piece of severed tape is practically automatic. It has been conclusively determined that when an operator becomes fatigued the entire tape dispensing cycle is not completed since the operator will fail to swing the oscillatable hand lever throughout its entire feeding stroke, with the result that the length of tape presented will not be of the predetermined and desired length.

it has been suggested that electrical driver means be provided for replacing the hand actuated oscillatable drive lever, however the expense, incidental hazards, operating characteristics, frequency of operation and duration of operation are such as to render electrical drive means wholly unsuited for this purpose.

The present invention is primarily directed to a simple, highly efiicient, light-weight, self-contained pneumatic feed attachment for replacing the manually operated oscillatable driving lever of a conventional gummed tape dispenser. In passing, it will be noted that the cost of air is less than 30% the cost of cheap electricity, and air presents no hazards as does electricity.

With reference now to the drawings, the numeral it 'denotes a pneumatic cylinder having 'a piston reciprocable therein, said piston being secured to and carried by an end of piston rod t2, the free outer end of which is secured, as by means of a pin 14, to a rack 16 whereby the rack will be reciprocated by the piston rod. A pair of inlet ports 18 and 20 are disposed at opposite ends of the cylinder for thereby introducing a suitable pressure media, such as compressed air, onto opposite sides of the piston for driving it to one or the other ends of its stroke.

Means, such as a bracket 22, may be provided for securely though releasably mounting the pneumatic cylin der to side wall 24 of the conventional tape dispenser housing. A gear 26 is secured in driven relationship to rock shaft 28 of the conventional tape dispenser, after removal of the conventional oscillatable hand lever.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention a rack guide 30 is secured to and carried by wall 24 for maintaining rack 16 in positive engagement with gear 26.

A suitable source of air under pressure may be supplied to valve 40 via conduit 42, it being noted that the valve, see Fig, 6, comprises a body portion having a cylindrical bore 44 therethrough in which a spool type valve stem 46 is reeiprocably mounted. The numerals and 5'9 denote a first and second outlet port, respectively, which are connected by means of conduits 52 and 54 to opposite ends of cylinder 10. Suitable means, such as spring 56, may be interposed between face 53 of the valve housing and face 60 of one of a pair of combination lock and stop nuts 62 threadably secured to spool 36 for normally shifting the spool to one end of the stroke for thereby interconnecting outlet port 48 in open communication with the forward end of cylinder 10, for thereby maintaining piston rod 12 in a fully retracted position, that is, to the right. The stroke of spool 46 may be controlled by combination lock and stop nuts 64 threadably secured to the opposite end of the spool. From the foregoing it will be noted that valve 40 will normally maintain the piston and rack in a fully retracted position. However, when an operator desires to actuate the device for expelling or dispensing a predetermined. length of tape, all he need do is to depress button '70 with his foot for lowering lever 72 relative to its fixed and pivotally secured as at 74 to a bracket 76, thereby imparting ta COLIHH ter-clockwise motion to lever 72 which will shift spool 46 axially to the right for simultaneously connecting port 48 with port 53 and venting the forward end of cylinder via conduit 52 while disposing the second outlet port 50 in open communication with pressure port and conduit 42 transporting fluid pressure to the rear end of cylinder 10 via conduit 54.

The introduction of compressed air to the rear end of cylinder 10 will be instantaneous, for all practical purposes whereby to instantly drive or shift the piston completely to the other end of its stroke for thereby driving gear 26 in a counter-clockwise direction for rotating rock shaft 28 throughout a complete tape dispensing cycle.

Reference is made to the D. E. Beckett, et al. Patent No. 2,586,906 for a detailed description of the structural details of valve 40, and reference is likewise made to the R. E. Engberg, Reissue Patent No. 22,945, and particularly to Figs. 6, 7, l2 and 13 thereof fora description of the actuating characteristics of rock shaft 28 and the manner in which it drives, in a step-by-step manner, the tape dispensing drum 80, it being noted that the present invention is neither concerned with nor directed to the particular structural details of this device which, for the purpose of this invention, is considered as a typical or conventional tape dispensing device.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, and as best illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, I prefer to strengthen, or reinforce rock shaft 28 by means of a reinforcing plate 92 secured in spaced relationship with side wall 24 of the dispenser housing, by means of a spacer sleeve 94 and a bolt and nut assembly 96 and 98, or the like. In this manner I am able to mount an auxiliary bearing sleeve 100 through which rock shaft 28 extends and is rotatably journaled, it being noted, see Fig. 4, that opposite ends of bearing sleeve 100 are cut away as at 102 and 104 for interlocking engagement with corresponding portions of plates 24 and 92. In this manner I have provided simple, yet highly effective means for reinforcing rock shaft 28 whereby to better support the bending load placed thereon by gear 26 and rack 16.

It has been conclusively established that use of my pneumatic feed will effect such savings in material being dispensed as to pay for itself in a matter of days.

In passing it should be noted that my pneumatic feed may be attached to any type of tape dispenser having a rock shaft and an oscillatable hand lever. In Fig. 1 I have illustrated a conventional tape dispenser of the type wherein wider strips of tape are severed into lesser widths 120 and 122 which are then severed by blade 124 into predetermined lengths supported upon fins 126 of dispensing drum 80.

In Figs. 3 and 4 the numerals 110 denote portions of a standard pawl and cutter assembly, and the numeral 112 a conventional rachet by which the drum 80 is turned in one direction only incident to rotation of rock shaft 28 in one direction, said rachet comprising, in effeet, a one-Way clutch.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, I provide a stop collar 13 on piston rod 12 to which it is securely though adjustably attached by means of a clamp bolt 15. Uniformly satisfactory results are obtained when stop collar 13 is utilized to control the back stroke of the piston, it being understood that the rear or right face of the collar will abut the forward or left end 17 of the cylinder housing. In this manner I am able to provide micro adjustment of the piston, thereby insuring precisely measured and predetermined lengths of tape from the dispenser each time the device is actuated.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A pneumatic actuating mechanism attachment for association with the rocker shaft of a machine for dispensing predetermined lengths of gummed tape from a roll of such tape therein which includes an elongated housing open at the front for the dispensing of tape and having side walls through one of which a horizontal rotatable rocker shaft that controls the feeding cycle of the machine projects exteriorly of the housing, said actuating mechanism comprising a pneumatic cylinder, a piston reciprocable therein, a piston rod in driven relationship with the piston, a rack bar fixedly secured at one end to one end portion of the piston rod exteriorly of the cylinder, a pinion adapted to be fixedly mounted on that portion of the rocker shaft that projects beyond the side wall of the housing, means for fixedly mounting the cylinder substantially horizontally on the outer face of said side wall substantially parallel with and close alongside said side wall with the rack bar in constant driving engagement with the aforesaid pinion, an air valve located remote from the housing and cylinder, said valve including a first and a second outlet port, conduit means interconnecting the outlet ports With opposite ends of the cylinder, means operable for normally actuating said valve for disposing the first outlet port in open communication with the forward end of the cylinder for driving the piston to and then maintaining it in fully retracted position at the rear end of its stroke, a manually operable member mounted for movement to directly engage and actuate said valve from its normal condition to dispose the second outlet port in open communication with the rear end of the cylinder while simultaneously exhausting the forward end thereof, for repeatedly driving the piston forwardly the full and entire limit of its stroke for rotating the pinion throughout an entire and complete rocker shaft feeding cycle thus automatically dispensing strips all of the same predetermined length, said valve automatically repeatedly returning to its normal condition to drive the piston rearwardly the full and entire limit of its stroke incident to release of said manually operable means.

2. A pneumatic actuating mechanism attachment of the construction defined in claim 1 wherein the piston rod has a smooth outer face and is provided exteriorly of said cylinder with a stop collar adjustably mounted thereon and adapted to abut an end wall of said cylinder for defining the overall stroke of the piston and insuring a predetermined length of tape being dispensed each time the rocker shaft of the tape dispenser machine is actuated in its feeding cycle by said pneumatic actuating mechanism, said collar being adapted to be slidably adjusted along the piston rod to selected positions, and the collar having means for clamping the same to the piston rod in different positions of adjustment.

3. A pneumatic actuating mechanism attachment for association with the rocker shaft of a tape dispensing machine of the type which includes a housing having a wall through which a rotatable rock shaft which controls the feeding cycle of the machine projects; said actuating mechanism comprising a pneumatic cylinder, a piston reciprocable therein, a piston rod in driven relationship with the piston, a rack fixedly secured at one end to one end portion of the piston rod, a gear adapted to be mounted in driving relationship with and carried by that portion of the rock shaft which extends beyond the wall of the housing through which it projects, means for fixedly mounting the cylinder relative to the housing with the rack engaging the aforesaid gear, a stop member adjustably mounted on the piston rod exteriorly of said cylinder and adapted to abut an end wall of the cylinder, an air valve including a first and a second outlet port, means interconnecting the outlet ports with opposite ends of the cylinder, means operable for normally actuating said valve for disposing the first outlet portion in open communication with the forward end of the cylinder for driving the piston to and then maintaining it in fully retracted position at the rear end of its stroke, manually operable means for actuating said valve from its normal condition to dispose the second outlet in open communication with the rear end of the cylinder while simultaneously exhausting the forward end thereof, for driving the piston forwardly the full and entire limit of its stroke for rotating the gear throughout an entire and complete rock shaft feeding cycle, said valve automatically returning to its normal condition to drive the piston rearwardly the full and entire limit of its stroke incident to release of said manually operable means.

4. A pneumatic actuating mechanism attachment for association with the rocker shaft of a machine for dispensing predetermined lengths of gummed tape from a roll of such tape therein which includes a housing open at the front for the dispensing of tape and having side walls through one of which a horizontal rotatable rocker shaft that controls the feeding cycle of the machine projects exteriorly of the housing, said actuating mechanism comprising a pneumatic cylinder, a piston reciprocable therein, a piston rod in driven relationship With the piston, a rack bar fixedly secured at one end to one end portion of the piston rod exteriorly of the cylinder, a pinion adapted to be fixedly mounted on that portion of the rocker shaft that projects beyond the side wall of the housing, means for fixedly mounting the cylinder relative to the housing with the rack bar in constant driving engagement with the aforesaid pinion, an air valve located remote from the housing and cylinder, said valve including a first and a second outlet port, conduit means interconnecting the outlet ports with opposite ends of the cylinder, means operable for nonnally actuating said valve for disposing the first outlet port in open communication with the one end of the cylinder for driving the piston to and then maintaining it at the other end of its stroke, a

manually operable member to actuate said valve from. its normal condition to dispose the second outlet port in open communication with the other end of the cylinder while simultaneously exhausing the first mentioned end thereof, for repeatedly driving the piston first in one direction the full and entire limit of its stroke for rotating the pinion throughout an entire and complete rocker shaft feeding cycle thus automatically dispensing strips all of the same predetermined length, said valve automatically repeatedly returning to its normal condition to drive the piston in an opposite direction the full and entire limit of its stroke incident to release of said manually operable means, a stop member secured to and carried by the piston rod exteriorly of the cylinder, and means fixed relative to the cylinder and engageable by said stop memher for defining the overall stroke limits of the piston,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 22,945 Engberg Dec. 2, 1947 558,256 Bush Apr. 14, 1896 558,868 Wellman Apr. 21, 1896 1,101,108 Vogel June 23, 1914 1,568,506 Gautier Jan. 5, 1926 1,606,305 Leguillon Nov. 9, 1926 1,870,197 Sibley Aug. 2, 1932 2,325,063 Krueger July 27, 1943 2,405,790 Krueger Aug. 13, 1946 2,428,493 Haller Oct. 7, 1947 2,451,467 Bickel Oct. 19, 1948 2,586,906 Beckett et a1 Feb. 25, 1952 2,657,926 Price et al Nov. 3, 1953 

